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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 9

Pros:

Very small and lightweight, sharp and contrasty

Cons:

Feels a bit cheap, some flare

This Nikon 1 11-27.5mm lens performs better then I thought it would. I guess it's because of the new design with ED and aspherical glass elements.

Zooming isn't very smooth but it isn't bad either. The lens feels a bit cheap. Maybe because it's so light and mostly made of plastic. It does have a metal mount though and it's not an expensive lens.

It's very compact and about a centimeter shorter then the Nikon 1 VR 10-30mm lens. The rubber zoom ring provides an adequate grip. Obviously, this lens doesn't have VR. Autofocus is fast, silent and accurate.

When this lens came out, I wondered how it would stack up to the 10-30mm (image quality wise). So, I tested it. I was surprised to find that the image quality of this 11-27.5mm was noticeably better then the 10-30mm.

At all focal lengths with the largest possible aperture, the 11-27.5 delivers images with visibly higher sharpness and better contrast. It does suffer from flare when a bright light source is in or near the image. The 10-30mm less so. I think the 11-27.5mm delivers a lot of bang for the buck. I even wonder if you still need the 10mm f/2.8 pancake when you have this puppy.

So, wich one to get then? Personally I would be willing to sacrifice the greater zoom range and VR of the 10-30mm for the higher image quality of the 11-27.5mm. As a bonus it's a more compact lens too. Of course your photographic needs might be different.